Sheet feeding arrangement for printing machines



April 1958, HANS-BERNHARD SCHUNEMANN 2,

SHEET FEEDING ARRANGEMENT FOR PRINTING MACHINES Filed May 13, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 R m E V m BY W 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEYS April 1958 HANS-BERNHARD SCHUNEMANN ,8

SHEET FEEDING ARRANGEMENT FOR PRINTING MACHINES Filed May 13, 1955 (I. m n i i m W m m w w w .M .II flu ia I S r. m 11' vd J A i m I |II e 7 w s w J z -a H A V 1:: v M ma I {/0 I NU N 5 r1 I 0 United States SHEET FEEDING ARRANGEMENT FOR PRINTING MACHINES Hans-Bernhard Schiinemann, Wurzburg, Germany, assignor to Schnellpressenfabrik Koenig & Bauer Aktiengesellschaft, Wurzhurg, Germany, a corporation of Germany Application Ma 13, 1955, Serial No. 508,260

11 Claims. (Cl. 101-232) the feeding table in an accelerated manner so that upon transferring the sheet to the impression cylinder, the sheet has reached a speed equal to that of the impression cylinder.

in order to increase the time for feeding or the covering angle for higher output, transfer of the sheet from a feed table has been tried by a swinging feed to an intermediate conveying device and from there to the impression cylinder. In carrying this out the intermediate con veying device causes the end of the sheet to slide off the feed table at a speed faster than the speed corresponding to the circumferential speed of the impression cylinder. According to the prior art, the rear end of the sheet was pushed off the sheet gripper portion of the intermediate conveying device by radially moving it outward from the adjacent portion of the intermediateconveying device by means such as guided cams, an air blast or by eccentrically arranging the intermediate conveying device, so that the speed of the rear end of the sheet is relatively higher than that of the front end of the sheet or the speed of the impression cylinder.

Since creaseless guiding of the printed sheet was not always possible and the guided motion of the cams only permitted limited working speeds and the time gained still not being sufiicient, the sheet is transferred from a swinging feed to an intermediate conveying device with another arrangement of a known kind. This kind of arrangement is kept moving with varying speed in a way so that its running speed after having taken over the sheet from the swinging feed is increased beyond the circumferential speed of the impression cylinder and prior to transferring the sheet to the impression cylinder grippers, the speed of travel of the sheet is again decreased to the impression cylinders circumferential speed.

All of these above-mentioned arrangements for accelerated taking off the sheet from the feeding table have a drawback in that the correctly fed sheet must be transferred twice, this being costly and tending to jeopardize hairline registry.

According to another known arrangement the sheet is directly transferred to the impression, cylinder by swing grippers and subsequently wound around the cylinder circumference by a pushing device that moves oppositely to the direction of rotation of the cylinder and concentrically therewith causing the end of. the sheet to leave the feeding table in an accelerated way. A disadvantage is the large space required for this pushing device, its drive on the impression cylinder shaft and the narrow shaped sheet guiding device. the front part of the feeding table has been arranged for swiveling.

in contrast to these known arrangements, my invention atent O To eliminate this 2 is a sheet feeding arrangement for printing presses for accelerated clearing of the sheet from the feeding table. It comprises means by which the sheet is conveyed from the feeding table by a swing feed direct to the impression cylinder in an improved manner differing from the 'previously known arrangements. My sheet feeding device rotates like a stop-cylinder press and conveys the sheet prior to transferring it to the impression cylinder at a speed higher than that ofthe impression cylinder, however, upon transferring the sheet to the impression cylinder, the speed of the sheet and the cylinder are the samei In carrying out my-invention I position my swinging.

feed which may be called a stopping drum or sheet feed ing device in-between the feeding table and the impression cylinder in a manner such that the feeding table almost touches the impression cylinder as well as the stopping drum, insofar as'other aspects, such as sheet delivery and the position of the forming or picture cylinder, permit. In this way, along drying passage is obtained on the sheet feeding drum between the feeding table and the feeding device and impressioncylinder in a rotated posi-- tion to deliver the leading end of the sheet to the impression cylinder while a'second sheet is being fed onto the feeding table;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation similar to Fig.2 showing the impression cylinder rotated further clockwise and having grasped the end of the sheet with its grippers, the feeding device having released the leading-end of the sheet and rotated further in a counterclockwise direction and the second sheet is positioned on the feeding board for delivery to the feeding device;

Fig. 4 is a side elevation at the opposite end of the aparatus showing the drive mechanism;

Fig. 5 is a cross sectional view of the apparatus in Fig. 4. I

Throughout the. description like reference numerals refer to similar parts.

A sheet feeding table .3 is arranged at an acute angle to the horizontal and has a stopping drum or sheet feed ing device 6 mounted adjacent the lower end thereof. An impression cylinder is mounted adjacent the sheet feeding device 6 and closely. under the feeding table 3 in a manner to 'transfer a sheet from feeding device to impression cylinder. As shown in Fig. 1 a customary form cylinder 9 is mounted below and to one side of the impression cylinder while the sheet delivery device 10 is mounted below and to the opposite side of the impression cylinder to receive the printed sheets. In the apparatus shown in Fig. 1, the feeding device or stopping cylinder 6 rotates counterclockwise, the impression cylinder 8 clockwise, forming cylinder 9 counterclockwiseand sheet delivery device 10 counterclockwise.

A sheet such as 1 is fed on the feeding table to where a frontlay or gripper 4 pivotallymounted holds and releases the sheet as illustrated in Figures 1 and 3.

The stopping drum 6 is equipped with pivotally mounted grippers as illustrated at 5 whichin closed position hold the front end of a sheet and in open position release the sheet. Impression cylinder 8 is equipped with pivoted grippers 7 to seize the front end of a sheet transferred j Patented Apr. 22, 1958' to the impression cylinder and hold it during rotation to the printing position in contact with the forming cylinder 9 and until the printed sheet is to be released to the delivery device 10.

In Fig. 1 there is shown thestart of the movement of feeding device 6. Grippers on drum 6 have seized the leading end of sheet 1 which has been released by frontlay or gripper 4 having pivoted up out of its holding position. After rotating through a predetermined starting angle, drum 6 reaches a higher speed than the speed of impression cylinder 8 and draws sheet 1 off the feed table 3 in an accelerated manner. Shortly before transferring sheet 1 to impression cylinder 8, sheet feeding device 6 deaccelerates so that at the moment of sheet transferring the circumferential speeds of the sheet feeding device 6 and impression cylinder 8 are the same.

Reference to Fig. 2 shows transferring of sheet 1 from drum grippers 5 on drum 6 to grippers 'I' on the impression cylinder 8. Note. that the end of sheet 1, a long sheet, still rests on the feeding tabled while the next sheet 2 is approaching frontlays 4 that are still opcnto permit sheet 1 to freely leave the feeding table. The sheet feeding device rotates on to its sheet receiving position after its grippers 5 up sheet 1 as will be explained below. It will be observed that the sheet travels through threequarter arcs or about 270 in the illustration shown for the pparatus arrangement.

The size of the stopping drum 6 depends upon its kind of movement. For example, the drum starts resting if the end of the sheet leaves the feeding table 3 and keeps resting the whole time the sheet is being brought into position on the feeding table 3. In order for this to take place, drum 6 must be accelerated at a fast rate at the start of its cycle or be accelerated for a second time after the sheet is transferred to the impression cylinder 8 so as to be able to again return in good time into its resting or sheet receiving position on the feeding table.

In case the feeding device or drum 6 is not employed during the positioning of the sheet on the feeding table 3, it need not remain at rest the whole of the time equivalent to approximately a third or a half revolution of the impression cylinder which is required for feeding if its movement is not aifecting positioning of the sheets. For accomplishing this, drum 6 is equipped with suction disk or turnable grippers generally illustrated at 5 which permit the drum 6 to, rest adjacent a completely or almost completely positioned sheet on the feeding table. Therefore, the pp drum 6 n e only res as long as. i take for the release of the sheet by the frontlays 4 and the gripping of the sheet by the grippers 5.

n g 3 there i hown. dr m 6 wi h it g p 5 pivotally released. Sheet 1 has left. feeding table 3. and frontlays 4 are closed to position a new sheet 2 Drum 6 with its released grippers 5 passes beneath the, feeding table discharge edge a little later and. comes to a standstill after a short lapse of time while. grippers 5- turn up as soon as they have let go of sheet 1,. Thus, a cycle of drum 6 is complete and it is at starting position as illustrated in Fig. 1.

The sheet feeding device 6 can also pass beneath the discharge edge of feeding table 3 and be kept moving a little further with open grippers or similar sheet holding devices. The drum is subsequently rotated in the reverse direction to position it to, receive another sheet whence the grippers 5 close on the leading, end of the sheet. In some cases the drum may move the sheet on the feeding table a little backward before oommencingits forward movement with the seized sheet.

r herm r he shee feeding device'i s lf can. be utilized for positioning in that it, carries, devices necessary for positioning e s. as. is is nown. in the. arto sh feeding apparatus having a continuously intermediate conveying device.

: Reference to Figures 4 and- 5. shows that driving of all of these accelerated sheet feeding devices can, for example,

be done by means of toothed segment crank gears in a way so that toothed segments 10', 11, 12 and 13 attached to both the sheet feeding device shaft 14 and the impression cylinder shaft 15 effect the uniformly varying speeds of the sheet feeding device 6 prior and during sheet transfer to the impression cylinder 8. At the same time a crank 16 fixed on shaft 14 of the sheet feeding device with control bar 17 and the control lever 20 pivoted around the journal 18 and bearing a steering roll 19 in connection with a cam guiding groove of conjugate wall cams 21 and 22 driven by the impression cylinder shaft 15 effects all speed portions of the rotation of the feeding device 6 that are not uniform and the stopping of the sheet feeding device 6.

In Figures 4 and 5 it will be observed that the transfer or sheet feeding device 6 is driven from the impression cylinder 8 and its shaft 15. Toothed segment 10 on feeding or transfer device 6 is driven by toothed segment 12 on impression drive cylinder 3. Each of these toothed segments 10' and 12 have equal radii from their shaft 14 and 15 respectiively and are of equal length and thus the device 6 is driven at the same rate of speed circumferentially as impression cylinder 8 and this is for the transfer of a sheet from cylinder 6 to cylinder 8 as shown in progress in Figures 2 and 3. In order to bring the toothed segments 10' and 12 into engagement a cam is provided and this cam is formed between the cam walls 21 and 22 which act on steering roll 19 attached to control lever 20 which pivots about fixed pivot 18 to move control bar 17 attached to crank 16. As crank 16 is fixed to shaft 14 it rotates cylinder 6 to bring segment 10' to mesh with segment 12.

Tooth segment 13 on cylinder 8 drives toothed segment 11 on device 6. Segment i3 is of a greater radius than segment 11 and thus when these are in mesh segment 11 will be driven at a higher rate of speed than segment 13. This accelerated rate of speed for device 6 takes place after a sheet has been grasped by grippers 5 on device 6 and transferred to the portion shown in Fig. 2. The cam walls 21' and 22' assist in guiding the steering roller 19 so that device 6 may be stopped under the sheet feed table 7 to pick up another sheet.

What is claimed is:

1. In a printing machine for printing sheetcs the combination comprising a sheet feeding table positioned at an arcuate inclined angle to a horizontal plane, an impression cylinder positioned in close spaced relation to and under said table adjacent the discharge end thereof, a rotary sheet feeding device mounted under the dis charge end of said table in sheet transfer and outer contact with said impression cylinder and a forming cylinde in printing contact with said impression cylinder whereby the arc of travel of the sheet on the sheet transfer device permits a transit of a portion thereof at a higher speed than the circumferential speed of the impression cylinder while upon transferring, the speeds of the sheet transfer device and the impression cylinder are the same and permitting the rotary sheet transfer device to return to its sheet receiving position to feed successive sheets to said impression cylinder without interruption.

2. In a printing machine according to claim 1 wherein said rotary sheet feeding device rotates at varying speeds in seizing a sheet to transfer it to the impression cylinder.

3. In a printing machine acccording to claim 1 wherein the rotary sheet feeding device is positioned between the sheet feeding table and the impression cylinder to permit sheet travel on the sheet feeding device of at least from sheet feeding table to impression cylinder.

4. In a printing machine according to claim 3 wherein the sheet feeding device is positioned between the sheet feeding table and the impression cylinder so that the feeding table almost touches the sheet feeding device as well as the impression cylinder.

5. In a printing machine according to claim 1 wherein the rotary sheet feeding device is positioned between the feeding table and the impression cylinder so that the sheet feeding table almost touches the sheet feeding device and the impression cylinder.

6. In a printing machine according to claim 1 wherein the sheet feeding device carries sheet holding means and said sheet feeding device is adapted to rotate to a position adjacent a sheet on the sheet feeding table to permit the holding means to seize a sheet.

7. In a printing machine according to claim 1 including drive means on the impression cylinder arranged in sector portions, cooperating sector driven means on said rotary feeding device in driving contact with said drive means whereby said rotary feeding device is driven at uniformly varying speeds prior to and during sheet transfer to the impression cylinder, a crank arm on said impression cylinder and rotated therewith, cam guiding means arranged in sector position on said rotary feeding device, link means connected to said crank arm and operated thereby, said link means having a cam follower attached thereto and engaged with said cam guiding means on said rotary feeding device whereby said rotary feeding device is driven at varying speeds intermediate the time said feeding device is driven by said sector drive means.

8. In a printing machine according to claim 2 wherein the sheet feeding device carries sheet holding means and said sheet feeding device is adapted to rotate to a position adjacent a sheet on the sheet feeding table to permit the holding means to seize a sheet.

9. In a printing machine according to claim 2. including drive means on the impression cylinder arranged in sector portions, cooperating sector driven means on said rotary feeding device in driving contact with said drive means whereby said rotary feeding device is driven at uniformly varying speeds prior to and during sheet transfer to the impression cylinder, a crank arm on said impression cylinder and rotated therewith, cam guiding means arranged in sector position on said rotary feeding device, link means connected to said crank arm and operated thereby, said link means having a cam follower attached thereto and engaged with said cam guiding means on said rotary feeding device whereby said rotary feeding device is driven at varying speeds intermediate the time said feeding device is driven by said sector drive means.

10. In a printing machine for printing sheets the combination comprising a sheet feeding table, an impression cylinder positioned in close spaced relation adjacent the discharge end thereof, a rotary sheet feeding device mounted closely adjacent the discharge end of said table in close sheet transfer position adjacent said impression cylinder whereby the arc of travel of a sheet on the sheet transfer device permits a transit of a portion thereof at a higher speed of the impression cylinder while upon transferring, the speeds of the sheet transfer device and the impression cylinder are the same and permitting the rotary sheet transfer device to return to its sheet receiving position to feed successive sheets to said impression cylinder without interruption.

11. In a printing machine for printing sheets according to claim 10 including drive means on the impression cylinder arranged in sector portions, cooperating sector driven means on said rotary feeding device in driving contact with said drive means whereby said rotary feeding device is driven at uniformly varying speeds prior to and during sheet transfer to the impression cylinder, a crank arm on said impression cylinder and rotated therewith, cam guiding means arranged in sector position on said rotary feeding device, link means connected to said crank arm and operated thereby, said link means having a cam follower attached thereto and engaged with said cam guiding means on said rotary feeding device whereby said rotary feeding device is driven at varying speeds intermediate the time said feeding device is driven by said sector drive means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,922,040 Harrold Aug. 15, 1933 1,984,588 Liebusch Dec. 18, 1934 1,991,003 Stevens Feb, 12, 1935 2,084,783 Seybold June 22, 1937 2,095,276 Wormser Oct. 12, 1937 2,377,447 Peyrebrune June 5, 1945 

